Altered Realities II
by Fabius Maximus
Summary: Kim and Josh are still together after Monkey Fist's attack but now, they face a new challenge...Could it be?  Yes! Chapter VIII is up.
1. Chapter 1

Altered realities II

Note: the part II at the end of the last "Altered Realities" story is actually "Part II.5" as I came up with this idea later.

* * *

"And then he paid _Josh?_" Monique said in shock. "Monkey Fist paid _Josh?_"

"Yep." Kim grinned, pulled her stuff from the locker underneath Monique's. "Paid _cash_."

"So cool—when are you going to have Josh buy you a car?" Kim laughed at that.

"Not ever—Not only did it give Josh a rep, his mom and dad offered to match that money—he has his full first two years tuition at the New York College of the Arts, now." Kim's smile got wider, if possible. "Josh has wanted to go there, since forever."

"Why? He's pretty good…" Monique said, as they closed their lockers and headed for the class, Kim wheeling along beside her friend. Kim chuckled at the comment.

"Yeah, he is…but he likes _art,_ Monique. Even if he knows everything he _needs_ to know, he'd want to go there, just to learn more." Kim's smile got softer. "He's happy when he's going that."

"As happy as when he's with you?"

"Different kind of happy, but yeah." Monique laughed.

"Well, that's good—Brick has the same kind of thing…well, only its when he's watching football."

_"You _watch football." Kim said.

"But I don't get so over excited I try to tackle the TV."

"Get _out!_"

"That's what his mom said…." At that, the two teens laughed as they entered the class, Monique heading to her seat and Kim rolling over to hers. Kim sighed. Josh hadn't taken this class, and so she was going to have to suffer through World History alone…especially since it was taught by a traditional male teacher who seemed to think the only history had come out of the barrel of a gun.

Surprisingly, during the class, Tara was ahead of everyone else. The blond cheerleader seemed to remember every fact, every date, every miserable little piece of trivia about the difference between Swedish and British organization… Which was really surprising. Monique and Bonnie saw it to, and they looked at Kim, who looked back and then they all nodded. After class, Tara found herself surrounded.

"So Tara…" Bonnie drawled. "Decided to date a history geek?"

"No!" Tara giggled.

"Decided to date the _teacher?_" Monique added.

"Ugh!" Tara said, gagging.

"What's up guys?" Ron said, as he and Josh joined the group.

"_Tara__ has a boyfriend…_" Kim said. Tara blushed.

"What, only one?" Ron said. "Isn't that down from last week?"

"_Hey!" _Tara said, offended. "I only had one boyfriend last week."

"So, you were only doing serial boyfriends instead of having a bunch at once." Monique supplied.

"_No…_ I was… just checking them out." Tara said.

"And you discovered?" Bonnie asked.

"That yes, I think I _should_ do the serial boyfriend thing—since no single boyfriend is up to my speed." Tara replied, virtuously. Bonnie, Kim, and Monique all made gagging noises, and when that was over, Kim took the offensive.

"But seriously—how were you managing to answer all those questions? I was about to pass out."

"Smart pills!" Tara said, pulling a small bottle of blue pills from her purse. The other teens looked around at each other.

"Tara…" Kim said. "This wasn't something to keep you up studying was it?"

"Not even—they're a special type of vitamin, and they're also approved by the FDA!" She said, showing Kim the seal. "But ah…don't' tell anyone, ok? I heard from a friend that if schools found out about it, they'd ban them because they don't want people to get away without studying—but I remembered everything I read—the first time."

"Those aren't pills, they're miracles in a bottle." Bonnie said in an undertone. Tara stuck her tongue out at her. Kim and Ron both looked a little disturbed. Tara blinked, looking at the two.

"What?" Kim shook her head.

"Are you sure they're just vitamin pills?" Tara blinked.

"You're not going to tell, are you?" Kim sighed.

"No Tara…but could I have one?"

"Why not go get them? They're selling them really cheap."

"At the drug store?"

"On line." Alarm bells started going off in Kim's head, as her reporter's instinct clicked in.

"Well, give me one, and I'll hit the website later." Tara nodded, and then, giggled, looking down at an attractive boy.

"Well, I'd better be off now!" she said, an expression like a shark scenting blood on her face.

* * *

"Vitamin pills." Bonnie said.

"Maybe."

"Hey, I take vitamin pills, and so do you." Bonnie pointed out. Kim nodded. She had to, given her injury.

"I know, I just…" Kim shook her head, as both Josh and Bonnie looked confused. Kim continued. "After I was hit by the car, I was in pain… a _lot_ of pain." She said, "So I had to be drugged, and well, I got…addicted."

"Didn't your mom know?" Josh asked. Kim nodded.

"Sure, in fact she told me what was probably going to happen, but it was a choice between going nuts from pain and getting addicted. Then the doctors and mom helped me fight the dependency." Kim remembered the first days of cutting down the dosages—you had to stop taking the medication at some point, but the pain felt terrible, coming off of the artificial pain relief the drugs brought—and still more terrible knowing that there was a medicine that could make it _stop. _She'd woken up more than one night whimpering in pain and trembling, with her mom and dad beside her bed, unable to do the thing that would have brought temporary relief, but with such a price attached. "It's…" She paused, "Nothing I'd wish on anyone."

"You think these are drugs?" Josh said. He paused, "Kim, if someone were to think that…" Kim shook her head.

"I know—I'm not about to wheel up to Mr. Barkin and start screaming that Tara's a drug fiend…but I mean, if this works, why not sell it to college kids? They can pay a lot more."

"Because…" Bonnie looked over where Tara was ambushing her prey, "College kids might realize that it's just some vitamins and caffeine? Kim, you know they _always_ brag about what vitamins can do." She paused, "Besides, this is _Tara_—every other week she has a new craze, you know?"

"Mmm…" Kim said, and slipped the pill back into her pocket.

"In any case." Ron said, "I wouldn't mind it if they could condense the wisdom of the ages into a pill."

"So you would take, which pill? Martial arts? Cooking?" Ron smiled at that.

"Bonnie, I'm a master at both of those, even before I became…" He waggled his eyes dramatically, "A master of Monkey Kung Fu."

"So?"

"Talk sense into my girlfriend." Ron continued, "the one art that eludes me."

"That's because your girlfriend is always _right._" Bonnie said, "And that means that we'd better head out to cheer practice, or she will be _late_ and it would be your fault."

"What about Tara?" Monique asked.

"Oh, she'll be there with her latest conquest." Kim said. Everyone laughed, as they headed towards the Gym.

But Kim made certain to write down the internet address.

TBC.


	2. Chapter 2

After the cheerleading session, Kim headed for the school newspaper. Ron and Bonnie were working out, since Bonnie had decided that if she was to have "Mystical Monkey Power" (and Kim couldn't help giggling at the very word), Ron would instruct her in actual martial arts. Given how much necking Kim had seen at one "practice" she wasn't certain how much training, at least in martial arts, was getting done. Josh was having to finish up some work on the school year book art section, which left her to do some work on the newest story—the one she'd just decided to do.

Kim rolled up the compute, flipped it on, and started with GOOGLE. Before she went to the internet site, she wanted some background information.

"This is weird." She muttered a few minutes later. Nothing. Nothing at all. Then, she sighed and went to the site. A cheery tune sounded, as the site came up with a brightly colored screen.

MEMORY, BRAIN POWER, AND WIT—THE WAY TO GET AHEAD. It started up with a dozen testimonials, official sounding statements on how the new BrainPower™ pills would revolutionize the world, with better memory, and better thought processes, and how they could be hers for only 4.95 for a bottle of fifty.

And then there was a place to put in her email address. No order form. No place to put her real address. No address for the company, not even a PO box. Kim looked at the screen in distrust, then left the site.

"That's…"

_Not right._ She thought. In a lot of states, companies were _required_ to have their address on the screen, somewhere, or at least contact information. Maybe it_ wasn't_ a U.S. company?

Next, Kim started checking out _other _sites. Nothing in the FDA database, nothing in the federal Trademark registration data base… she even did a copyright search for anything relating to the pill.

That took nearly an hour, as Kim waded through hundreds of ads for herbal teas, pills, vitamins, and in one case _brain_ licorice. Kim made a face. She _hated_ licorice…especially black licorice.

So, it looked like a scam….

Except Tara _had_ been better in class. A lot better. If it was a scam, it was one using official FDA seals, so she could….

No. Kim groaned and banged her head lightly against the desk. Yeah, she could, but if it was decided that it was a drug, Tara was dog meat. All the assemblies and the forms about zero tolerance that got sent home every year made _that_ plain. Hell, one kid had been sent home and forced to go to continuation school because he'd brought some prescription pain killers that his _doctor_ had given him. Tara would certainly be kicked off the cheer team, even if nothing worse happened.

And of course, that meant she couldn't go to anyone at school for information, and in fact… Kim purged the internet cache, to make certain nobody might stumble across her web search.

But if it wasn't a scam…. Why here? Why sell it for 4.95? That made absolutely _no_ sense. She thought about it, checked the time, and nodded. He would still be up. Kim put the call in over the internet vidphone, and moments later, a dignified older man appeared.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise, young lady." Senior Senor Senior said. "I trust Josh is doing well."

"He's doing great." Kim said. "Monkey Fist paid him for those paintings."

"As expected—madman he may be, but he is _still_ of British nobility." The rich man said. "But I sense you are calling me for another reason."

"How did you know?"

"My dear, you are in your school's newspaper office—hardly the place for a traditional casual call." Kim blinked. Senior's perceptivity still caught her off guard at times.

"Um, yeah." Kim said, and started to explain what she was thinking about. It was odd, since he was the oldest person she knew (other than Nana), but Senior _understood_ some things better than anyone else she knew.

"Ah yes." He said, "zero tolerance…it is always easier for appointed officials to tie their own hands and say 'this is the law, I can do nothing', rather than accept that their job carries certain risks and make the decisions they are paid to make." A mild flicker of annoyance passed his face. "When I was building my fortune, I _never_ let such people work for me. Taking risks is the only way to achieve victory, after all." He paused, "I will launch inquiries among my own sources…but I believe there is someone who may be able to aid you, a consultant, quite young, yes."

"My age?"

"Younger my dear—and he has already obtained several university degrees." Senior paused, "But he is very shy—so it is unlikely you will meet him in person. I will ask him if he is willing to help you."

"Please and Thank you." Kim said, and frustrated, "But I can't believe Tara would just take them on their word!" Senior softly laughed.

"Have you ever heard of the Nigerian Bank swindle?" Kim nodded, that was an old internet fraud.

"Most of the people who fall for it are wealthy in their own rights—doctors, lawyers, engineers… quite intelligent, in their own way." Senior shrugged, "But because they hear what they wish to hear, they fall for a transparent scam."

"And they wish to?"

"Get something for, if not nothing, far less than they would have to actually pay for it." He paused, "If anything, the small charge makes sense—if it is some form of swindle, making them pay something is less likely to raise alarm than a free distribution."

"But _what_ swindle?" Kim said in frustration, "If it works, it's not paying them nearly what they could offer…if it doesn't work…it's not making enough money to well, be worth their time."

"I do not know about that." Senior cautioned. "If they are only selling to _this_ school, no, but as you have pointed out, American drug policies would keep most students quiet—so if they are selling one bottle a month to ten students at every high school…"

"I hadn't thought of that." Kim said, face reddening. _She_ was supposed to be the reporter.

"It is to be expected—besides, Kim Possible, if you had thought of everything, where would that leave me and my sage advice?" Kim laughed at that. After she said goodbye, she sat looking at the screen, a frown returning to her face.

So, she might have some help on the internet front… But that still left this pill. Well, Josh was having to help his parents tonight, and Ron and Bonnie were off on one of their dates after their workout…and that gave her some time for a serious talk with her mother.

* * *

Later that night, after the dinner had been cleared away, and her father was working on a new project having to do with outfitting a rat in powered armor for space exploration—although, Dr. Possible had explained, his superiors had _specifically_ told him there were to be no plasma blasters this time, Kim wheeled into the kitchen and started talking to her mother. Mom often cleaned up after dinner—she said that there was a time when it was just relaxing to do something that did _not_ require painfully exact reflexes and cooking dinner and the resultant cleaning fit the bill. Fortunately, the Tweebs were being… sort of quiet tonight.

"Mom… this is going to sound odd—but can anyone call anything a vitamin and get away with it?" Dr. Possible looked at her daughter, and shook her head.

"It's not that easy, Kimmie—there are new regulations out, and while a food supplement _does_ have less testing than an actual drug, the penalties for trying to claim on as the other are…severe."

"Oh." Kim paused, "And if it was a drug, would zero tolerance kick in?"

"Are you taking something, Kimmie?" Her mother asked, slight concern on her face. Kim shook her head.

"There's a new pill…it's supposedly a memory enhancing vitamin…but I don't know."

"Those are all frauds, Kimmie, maybe not in a literal sense—some vitamins do help your ability to remember, but nothing like they advertise." Now Kim looked nervous.

"But what if they did.. if say, someone I knew was taking it really _did_ get a better memory." Her mother put the silverware down and frowned.

"Then I'd have to say it was a drug, not a vitamin…and we need to know who, Kimmie. I'm a brain surgeon, so I hope you believe me when I say that the _last_ thing anyone wants to be doing is ingesting some drug that has an effect on their brain."

"But what could it do that would be so bad if its helping memory?" Kim asked, trying to find an out. Her mother without missing a beat responded.

"Well, just off the top of my head, one way to "help" your memory might be to increase the flow of blood to the brain—but that could also lead to problems down the line—like say a stroke. Kimmie, I think you need to tell me more."

"Well…" Kim started telling her the entire story, without mentioning Tara's name, and then went to the part about the FDA stickers and lack of any other information. By the time she had finished her mother had stopped cleaning up and was sitting down, lips pressed together in firm disapproval.

"May I see the pill?" She asked. Kim handed to her. Dr. Possible frowned as she looked at it. "There could be several possibilities, Kim. The first is that Bonnie is right—it's just a real vitamin or caffeine tablet." She shrugged, "The effect would be a placebo—the individual _thinks_ it's helping, so in some ways, it does."

"And the other?"

"It could be having a real effect—in which case, and I know you don't like to hear this, it needs to be dealt with—even if it is a placebo, the fraudulent FDA notices need legal action."

"But Mom…" Kim said, thinking of what might happen to Tara.

"No buts, Kimmie—falsifying FDA approval is very serious—do you know that most drugs can take over ten years to be approved? That's because they are tested—tested thoroughly, so that I, as a doctor, or you, as a layperson, can be confident that they're _safe_ so long as they are used properly." She sighed, "But we have no idea if this received _any_ testing—what if it's poisonous? What if there are side effects? We don't know." Kim groaned.

_What was I thinking? **Mom,** give a pass on a medical ethics question?_

"Could you…test it?"

"When?"

"Tomorrow?" Her mother shook her head.

"No. By rights I should call the police _right now_, but I will give you this much—if it _is_ just a placebo, I don't want to ruin a life over this. We're going to go to the hospital now." She paused, "And if there is anything—I mean _anything_ in this pill other than sugar and food coloring, Kimberly, I expect you to tell me, and the authorities, who you know has taken it. Is that understood?"

"Yes Mom." Her mother's eyes softened.

"I'm sorry Kimmie…but people like this…" Her hand indicated the pill and by extension its makers, "It's important that we stop them."

"I know…but…" Kim sighed, "I just hope it isn't going to hurt my friends."

"Kimmie…if it _is_ a placebo, it really isn't a drug, so your friends aren't violating any rules… if it is, then they're victims of fraud, and I _promise_ you I will do everything to prevent them from being unfairly treated."

"OK." Kim sighed, "Ready?"

"Let me get my coat."

Outside, they headed towards her mothers car. Kim opened her door, reached out and levered herself into the car, leaving her mother to fold the wheelchair and rack it in the back of the car, like a bike. Her mother sighed. At times they'd considered getting a powered lift…but Kim was dead set against it. She understood that she couldn't do everything she had…but she wasn't about to give in any more than needed—or let others try to make her give in. Andrea shook her head as a memory came flooding back.

* * *

_"Kimmie?"__ Andrea asked. That morning, Kim had been excited, wearing her best clothes, going out, with Ron. Something had gone wrong. _

_Something had gone **very** wrong._

_"Ron left for home." _

_"I don't **care!** I never want to see him again!" Kim said, sobbing. Andrea had only heard her daughter this distraught on a very few occasions—like when she'd been told that she likely would never walk again in her life. Kim hadn't made it all the way into her room. She'd tried to fling herself onto her bed, missed, slid back down, useless legs sprawled out underneath her. She was shaking with sobs, holding the covers of the bed to her face, hiding from the world, the cheerful colors of her shirt and skirt terribly inappropriate. _

_Andrea sat on the floor next to her daughter. _

_"He… he… grabbed the wheelchair and pulled me out. I **told** him not to, and everyone was, was…watching me…" The humiliation in her voice was almost too much for her mother to bear. _

_"I know, Kimmie." She said softly. She didn't bother to mention she'd gotten a phone call from Mr. Barkin, the principal of the high school who had seen the incident and quickly called her. He hadn't intervened, the older administrator correctly deciding that the only thing that would have done would have redoubled Kim's humiliation—but he had followed them back home, with surprising stealth, until they were at Kim's house. According to Barkin, it had been some sort of confrontation with some kids who thought it was funny to make fun of Kim, Ron had decided to get her out of there, which was, precisely, the wrong thing to do. She shook her head. He was young, like Kim… _

_"And then when we came back…" Kim choked, "I tried to get here fast, but he just _walked _besides me." Andrea nodded. Before the accident, Ron could barely keep up with Kim._

_She pulled Kim into her, her daughter not resisting as she gave vent, sobbing into her mother's body. Kim didn't say anything, and neither did her mother, just rocking the girl. Slowly, the sobbing slowed, as exhaustion caught up with her daughter. _

_"I…I was so happy this morning, Mom…" Kim said, her voice now tired and sorrowful rather than hysterical. "I…I was going to the mall for the first time, alone, with Ron… and I could almost pretend that nothing had happened…that I was… ok… that I…" She couldn't complete the sentence. _

_"I know, Kimmie." Her mother sighed, "And Ron destroyed it. I'm going to _speak_ to him about that."_

_"Are you going to yell…"_

_"Does it matter?" She said, "I thought you never wanted to see him again." Kim looked at her, rubbing her emerald eyes. She shook her head slightly._

_"I…"_

_"It's alright to be angry with him Kimmie—to be furious, even. I **am** going to talk to Ron…but do you think he did this to hurt you?" Kim shook her head, again._

_"Nor do I. He made a stupid mistake, but everyone does. I want to make certain he knows **what** it was he did…and why you're so angry about it." She paused, "And later, you need to tell him as well." _

_"Now?"_

_"Oh no… right now you're still too angry, tired, and I guarantee you that if you did it now, Ron would manage to put his foot in his mouth right up to the knee." A fragile smile flashed across Kim's face at the image. Andrea decided to continue. "And then he'd run around in circles trying to make things better, only they'd get worse…" Something that could have been a giggle came from Kim, and then she started speaking, Kim's voice was soft, but the anger was fading from it._

_"He really does do that a lot." She said. Andrea nodded. _

_"Kimmie, Ron blames himself… I know it's not fair, but it **is** natural, because yes, your father and I blame **ourselves** sometimes." She paused, "And that makes people do stupid things, because they so desperately want to protect the person… that they can forget what **you** want." _

_"I…" Kim closed her eyes, "I hate being like this."_

_"I know." Kim's body was trembling, but given that she'd wheeled herself all the way back from the mall, **and** had the fury and humiliation to deal with, Andrea judged it was from exhaustion. _

_"Can I… Can I just rest for a while?" Kim asked. Her mother nodded. Andrea waited as Kim got her hands under her, and levered herself up onto and into the bed. She didn't offer to help, but got the covers and pulled them over her daughter. Kim's eyes were still damp as she rolled over and grabbed her Pandaroo, holding it to her. Andrea kissed her daughter on the forehead. _

_"I'll get you up in time for Dinner." The doctor said, but Kim was already falling asleep. _

_Outside, the Twins were also sleeping during their nap, and her husband wasn't back yet, so Andrea sat at the dining room table and put her face in her hands, feeling the hot tears trickle down her cheeks. _

_Blaming themselves. Oh yes, especially Dr. Possible. Andrea was the best neurosurgeon in the state…and yet, that tiny break in Kim's spinal cord, less than the thickness of a single sheet of paper, could have been the grand canyon for all she could do to bridge it. Kim would remain paralyzed, and her mother, the doctor, could do nothing more than help her with the aftermath.

* * *

_

"Mom?" Andrea started.

"Yes, Kim?"

"You've been sitting in the drivers seat for the last minute." Kim said, "Are you zoning on me again?"

"Um…" Andrea rubbed her eyes. "Just some dust."

"You_ are_ zoning again." Kim said in a no-nonsense voice. "Let's focus on our mystery pills." She continued. _And stop feeling bad about me._ Kim said to herself, but actually mentioning it would only make her mother feel _worse_, so she'd pretend that mom was just zoning about something else, like a hospital case.

"Okay, Kimmie." Andrea said, smiling. "Pills first, zoning second." And with that, she started the car, heading for the hospital.

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

The drive to the hospital was short, and familiar to both women, Dr. Possible had worked here since she'd arrived in Middleton, and Kim had been here…nearly as often.

"Hello Dr. Possible." The desk nurse said, "Working late?" Then she looked over at Kim and nodded. "Hello Kim." She smiled, "Are you here to help out again?"

"No, we're going to do some tests, Marjorie." The nurse looked concerned, and Andrea smiled. "For a school project."

"Oh, good." Marjorie said. Kim had _looked _ok, but after all…

* * *

Moments later, they were in a lab, and Kim's mom had the pill out, in the plastic baggie that she had put it in. Before doing anything else, Andrea went and got a headset.

"Mom?"

"Sorry Kimmie, but if there is something nasty about this, we have to make certain this is admissible." She said, turning on the headset, and the video pickups in the lab.

"This is Dr. Andrea Possible, Chief of Neurosurgery at Middleton Regional Hospital. The time is 6:50PM, October 5th." She paused, and put the pill on a sample tray on the desk, not taking it out until she had put on a pair of surgical gloves. "I am examining a pill of unknown manufacture and composition to determine its chemical make up." She focused on the pill.

"The pill is blue, with no identifying markings of any type and is ten milligrams in weight. I am dividing it to provide a sample for chemical analysis." She continued, pulling out a scalpel, skillfully covering the pill with her other hand so even if it shattered, it would remain on the tray. It didn't, not being overly brittle, and soon there were two halves. "The color of the pill is the same on the interior, indicating that the pill has no coating and no differentiation of material." Andrea continued. One half went into a sample case, which she labeled, sealed, and placed in a cabinet, locking it with her code after she'd closed the door.

"Now what?" Kim asked. Her mother suddenly smiled.

"Now I have an excuse to play with the newest toy the hospital bought." She said, pointing to the machine that Kim had never seen before.

"What is it?"

"Full spectrum chemical analyzer." Her mother said, "five hundred thousand dollars worth."

"You're _kidding_."

"No, and Kimmie, believe me, it's worth every cent—comparing this to older ways of analyzing samples is like comparing a space plane to a hot air balloon." She carefully took the other half of the pill, and crushed it into a fine powder, before scraping it into a small sample tube, and inserting it into one of several access ports in the machine. "I didn't have to do that." Andrea said, "It can take lots of different types of samples, but this is faster."

"Now what?"

"Now? We wait." Her mother said. "It'll take at least five minutes to give even a preliminary reading." She paused, "And besides, it's been a while since we've had a mother daughter talk."

_Oh._ Kim mentally said.

"So, how are you and Josh getting on?" Andrea asked. "Has money gone to his head?" Kim shook her head.

"No, he's just really happy that he's going to be able to go to the college he wants."

"He's thinking ahead." Her mother paused. "What about you, Kimmie?"

"Well…" Kim paused, "I have the grades to go anywhere I want… but I'm trying to decide what I want to do."

"You not only have the grades, but you're working at a higher level than the other students." She paused, "You know that Mr. Barkin and some of your teachers have suggested that we have you take a few courses at Middleton University next year."

"They _did?_" Kim paused, "But that would mean…"

"Not full time." Her mother reassured her. "Besides, your father and his college friends to the contrary, there are more important things than learning." Kim giggled.

"I hope dad didn't hear you say that."

"Oh, he has…at length and volume." Andrea said. "Your father can be… a little naive about some things." She smiled, "Like the time he told you about the birds and the bees-"

"Mom!" Kim burst out, but then frowned. "He never did… you did." She paused, "Right when you got me my implant."

"Actually he tried…" She told her daughter. Kim thought and then groaned.

"Let me guess—the two hour talk about genetically altered honey bees…."

"Was supposed to be the lead up to 'the' talk." Andrea finished. "Your father…distracted himself." She shrugged, "Which, I have to admit may have been for the best—he would have never gotten you an implant."

"I don't think many girls have them." Kim said, her face reddening slightly. On the other hand, Kim's injury had led to lots of medical talks, so maybe she wasn't as embarrassed as she would have been otherwise. "When I mentioned it, I think Tara nearly dropped her drink, she was so surprised." Her mother's eyes narrowed at that.

"Better safe, than very sorry." Andrea said. "I do _not _understand some of those parents. It's mathematically certain that at least some of the parents started experimenting when they were high school age or younger, so why don't they realize _their_ children could be doing the same thing." Kim didn't say anything, because, well, she didn't like to lie to her mother, and so she wasn't _about_ to get upset at the thought that her mother thought some of the students were doing it.

Especially since, well, she and Josh _were_ doing it. Sometimes though, she wondered if she'd fooled mom. Her mother had an unnerving way of looking right _through_ you sometimes, nodding and agreeing….and making you wonder if she was nodding at how _dumb_ you were for thinking you could pull the wool over her eyes.

"In any case, I convinced your father, that however important education is, it's equally important that you stay in high school for the social component of your education." She paused, "He had dreams of you going to college, a sixteen year old freshman… which wouldn't work."

"Oh?" Kim was surprised, she was _certain_ she could do the work. Her mother confirmed that.

"It's not the school work," Andrea said, "But Kimmie—those college students are adults—how easy do you think it would be to make close friends with someone who lives on their own, has no parents keeping watch over them…and no curfew?

"I take it I would still…"

"Curfew? Oh yes." her mother said, eyes crinkling in amusement. Kim paused,

"That might make things a little…hard."

"I know—so I was thinking more along the line of one or two classes at college—and the rest at Middleton High." She smiled. "You get the higher education, and get to stick with your friends." Kim thought about not being able to work with the cheerleaders, or Ron, or not being able to have _Josh_ in her classes…and then thought about how her dad would react if she had refused what he would have thought would have been such a _wonderful_ opportunity… and the fact that Mom had, without Kim even realizing it, arranged to avoid any potential problems.

"You rock, mom." Kim said sincerely. There was a muted tone from the analyzer.

"That was fast." Andrea said, turning to the read out. "Now we'll…" Her voice trailed off. Kim didn't say anything as she peered at the readout.

Kim knew something about chemicals, and biology, of course, but she couldn't make heads or tails of the data streaming past, her mothers' fingers flashing over the keyboard, screen after screen of data going past. Moments later, Andrea looked over at Kim.

"Who took this, Kim?" Kim didn't even think about refusing, given the tone in her mother's voice.

"Tara."

"Do you have Tara's home number on your celphone?"

"Yes," Kim said, unnerved by the tone of her mothers voice. The last time she'd heard it had been when a man had had a heart attack in the diner where they'd all been eating. Dr. Possible had worked on him, performing CPR, and that same voice had cut through his wife's hysteria and quietly given orders of what to do until the paramedics had arrived. She gave the phone to her mother.

* * *

"Hello, Daphne." Andrea said as someone answered the phone. "This is Dr. Possible—Kim's mother. " She paused and continued, "No, I'm afraid things aren't okay… your daughter's been taking a memory enhancing drug, and I just ran a sample…" She paused, "No, it's not like normal drugs—it's… well I can't really tell you _what_ it is yet, but I would feel much better if she could come to the hospital _right now_ so we can do a workup on her blood and brain chemistry." She paused, "She's not home… I see. Can you ask her to…she left her celphone? A date? I see. She'll be back by 11:00?" Andrea looked over at the clock. "No. I'll still be here—and she should come in the _minute_ she gets home—earlier if she calls you." She frowned, at something that had been said. "Actually… yes. I think it would be a good idea to call the police and ask them if they can find her, or at least do a drive by at some-" Kim was making frantic semaphore motions.

"Yes Kimmie?"

"She'd be at the miniature golf course or the movies—right now probably golf." Her mother looked at her, nodded.

"Daphne, Kim thinks she knows where Tara is—we're close so we'll see if we can pick her up. No. No, thank _you." _

"Mom…" Kim said, "What's wrong."

"It's not a vitamin, Kimmie." Her mother said shortly. "I don't know precisely _what_ it is, but there were RNA strands, things that look like they might be some form of artificial retrovirus… Kim, I'm afraid that whatever it is could be very, very dangerous." She paused, "The only good news is that whoever made this pill isn't the one who made the drug." As Andrea said that, she and Kim were leaving, Kim for once having to work to keep up with her mother.

"Why not?" Kim asked.

"Because the stomach is one of the _worst_ ways to introduce a drug into the brain—I'd say better than 99 percent of the material in any pills Tara took never survived the acid, and then you would have to breach the blood brain barrier…."

"So… how did it help her memory?"

"I'm not certain, Kimberly." Her mother said, "But…." She sighed, "I'm sorry Kimberly, I know you don't' want to get Tara in trouble, but this is now a medical matter…"

"I understand." Kim said quietly. Her mother had never been one to play the games some other parents did. If she thought it was this important, then it was. End of argument. "I just hope we're in time." Kim added as they got to the parking lot.

* * *

TBC. 


	4. Chapter 4

_Crashing Down_

* * *

"Now that is just painful." Ron said, looking as Bonnie's golfball described a beautiful arc….into the tiny "river" that flowed under the equally tiny "London Bridge".

"Hush, you." Bonnie said. "I'm still adjusting to the mystical power that now flows through my veins."

"And that explains you missed how?" Tara's newest date, Felix asked. Ron had met Felix a few days ago—a new student transferred in, who, like Kim, was confined to a wheelchair. Unlike Kim, he had been confined ever since he was four. Kim hadn't had a chance to meet him.

_Or you don't want to, because of course it makes sense to feel guilty that you didn't get crippled until you were 12. _Ron thought. Sometimes Kim could make you want to scream…or get a camcorder when she started babbling.

"So Tara…" Bonnie drawled. "Still doing the 'I can remember anything?'"

"No…" Tara said, flipping a lock of blonde hair back, "It made me remember too much, if you can believe it. My head felt _stuffed_. I stopped taking them yesterday."

"Well, from what you ate at Bueno Nacho…. Maybe it was. Stuffed, I mean.." Felix mentioned and Tara pouted.

"I let you date me, and this is my reward?" She said. Felix laughed and abruptly two metallic tentacles whipped out and pulled her on to his lap. Tara gave a squeak and then giggled.

With that, the teens continued on to the next hole on the miniature golf course. Ron grinned, this was fun. No wonder all big political deals occurred during a game of golf.

As the night continued, they laughed and kept an impromptu score of who was winning and who was losing. Ron and Felix got into a game of who could miss the hole most entertainingly, which had golf balls raining all over the course.

Tara, on the other hand, seemed to be more and more out of it, shaking her head occasionally like an irritated horse.

"What's wrong, Tara?" Felix asked. Tara blinked at him, looked at her putter in her hands like it had just appeared and shook her head.

"No…nothing, Felix…"

"OK." Felix said, but kept looking over at her, with some concern.

"I…" Tara shook her head again, and went blank.

"Tara?" Bonnie asked. "Tara!" She said, concern in her voice. Tara just stood their swaying slightly.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"I don't know."

"You took my ice cream." Tara said, her voice higher pitched.

"What?" Felix said in confusion. Ron looked equally puzzled. Tara…didn't look like Tara right now, her face slack, eyes blinking in confusion…her posture was even different…less… skilled. Ron thought.

"Ice cream?" Ron asked.

"Who are you?" She said, in a high pitched confused voice. "Where's my ice cream?"

"Tara…what are you talking about?" Bonnie asked. Tara's eyes wandered, and fixated on Bonnie.

"You." She said, angrily. Bonnie backed up. Suddenly there was another expression on Tara's face. Rage.

"You…_Took my Ice Cream!"_ She screamed, and before the stunned teens could do anything else, she leaped on Bonnie, hammering away at her best friend, with savage, but oddly uncoordinated blows.

"Tara!" Ron shouted as Bonnie screamed, hands up ineffectually to ward off the other girl. Bonnie could fight Tara…but wasn't trying to. Ron reached down and grabbed Tara, planning on holding her…and suddenly found his hands full in more than one way.

Tara was strong—you didn't become a cheerleader without a good deal of strength and coordination. The coordination had deserted her, but she was…_strong_. Stronger than she had any right to be. Stronger than him, Ron realized in horror, or at least stronger than he could deal with without hurting her. He winced as a flailing fist caught him on the cheek and then Felix was there, with tentacles of metal sprouting from his chair.

"Let me!" He shouted, Ron nodded, and let Tara go, still screaming about her ice cream in an oddly childish voice.

"Let me go! Let GO!" She screamed, "MOMMY! MOMMY!"

"Tara…what's wrong?" Bonnie said.

"Where's my MOMMY!" Tara shouted, "You ate my ice cream!" Bonnie blanched.

"What is she talking about?" Ron asked.

"I did eat her ice cream." Bonnie said in a faint voice, "And she did get really angry about it…when we were six."

* * *

Kim and her mother were nearly to the golf park, the brightly lighted front area and building that held the arcade familiar from many drives there.

The police cars and ambulance weren't familiar in the slightest.

"Mom?"

"It could be something else." Her mother cautioned. When she stopped the car, Andrea hurried out, immediately after putting the wheelchair to where Kim could get in it.

"Sorry lady, the parks closed. Some teen freaked out." A security guard said. Andrea pulled out her ID and held it up to him.

"I'm Dr. Andrea Possible, Chief of the Neurosurgery Department, at Middleton Regional Hospital." The guard looked at her, and nodded.

"Go on in, the Paramedics just arrived." Andrea headed in, after letting the guard know that Kim was also to come in. That got a raised eyebrow, but he let it pass.

Inside the main building, Andrea came upon two paramedics who were strapping a screaming, thrashing Tara, into a gurney. About the only words Andrea could understand were "Mommy" and "Ice Cream."

"Man, what did she _take?_" One paramedic asked, and turned to see Dr. Possible.

"Dr. Possible? What are _you_ doing here?" Andrea didn't hesistate.

"I received information that this young lady may have ingested a drug."

"What type? LSD?"

"I'm afraid not. Some form of experimental drug."

"Jeez." Tara was arching her back, struggling against the restraints. The other three teens, faces the color of new milk, looked at Andrea.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Tara seemed to zone out…and then she jumped on Bonnie." Ron said quietly. "She's been like this ever since. She doesn't recognize anyone _but_ Bonnie, and she's…pretty angry at her."

"I see."

"No, you don't." Bonnie said, "She's talking about how I took her ice cream but that was ten years ago—I didn't even remember it until she brought it up."

"And she only recognizes you?" Andrea said, a dreadful possibility beginning to rise in her mind.

"Yes."

"Hmmm…" Andrea looked over at Tara, and nodded to herself, as Kim came wheeling up.

"Young lady, stop this instant!"Andrea said, playing her hunch, her voice strong, commanding, and very familiar to Kim. Tara paused, and looked up at Dr. Possible. Andrea continued, in the same tone. "Or do I have to call your mother?"

"No." A tiny peep. "Where's mommy? I want mommy." Andrea leaned down and spoke in a much more comforting voice.

"I know, dear. We're going on a ride to see your mommy. You would like that, right?"

"Uh-huh…"

"Good. And Bonnie will come along with us." Andrea continued. Tara's face twisted in an oddly childish expression.

"She took my icecream!"

"I know. Bonnie's very sorry, aren't you Bonnie." Bonnie came up and nodded, jerkily.

"Um, yeah. I'm really, really sorry, Tara." Tara giggled.

"You look different!" She said, then looked confused. "Why? Andrea smoothly headed that off.

"Now Tara, Bonnie's so sorry that she's going to get you _more_ ice cream when we go to see your mommy."

"Yay!" Andrea nodded, no hint of her concern and fear touching her face.

"Yes, so Bonnie's going to ride with us, but I want you to stay laying down. Can you do that for me?"

"Uh-huh…" Andrea smiled, and turned to one of the police officers standing by the paramedics.

"Do you have a stuffed animal?" The police officer nodded and quickly got the plastic wrapped teddy bear, carried in case a traumatized child might need something to hang on to. Andrea quickly unwrapped the bear and nodded to the paramedic who, with some reluctance, undid the bonds holding Tara's arms down. "Now Tara, I need you to hang on to Mr. Bear here." Andrea said. Tara reached up to grab the bear, and Andrea let her, but not before watching the coordination of her hands carefully, her lips tightening at something.

"Good. Ready for ice cream?" Tara giggled and nodded. Andrea nodded and gestured Bonnie into the ambulance and turned to Ron.

"Here are my car keys, Ron—why don't the rest of you come along, and we'll interview you at the hospital."

"Right Dr. P." Ron said. Moments later, the ambulance was leaving the parking lot, Bonnie and Andrea riding along inside it.

"I…" Felix shook his head. "What happened?"

"I think I happened." Kim quietly said, "I should have told someone the very instant I thought something was wrong!"

"Because you can see the future?" Ron asked quietly, "Let's find out what Dr. P thinks first, okay?"

"Yeah…" Kim said quietly. The teens quickly decamped to the van, where the wheelchair storage space also allowed Felix to come along without calling his mom. Moment's later, they were on their way, golf balls and clubs laying where they had fallen, forgotten.

* * *

TBC. 


	5. Chapter 5

_Going to the Hospital

* * *

_

When they got to the hospital, they were told, in no uncertain terms, to stay in the conference room Dr. Possible had ordered reserved for them. The teens did as they were told. Kim's mom would talk to the, Ron thought, but not until she was ready and more importantly, not until she had something to say. As fun and laid back as she was normally, when it came to medicine, Dr. Possible was a Roman Judge.

There was little talking until the door opened and Bonnie and Dr. Possible entered. Dr. Possible looked grim, with a rapidly spreading bruise over one cheek, Bonnie looked… Kim couldn't remember seeing her look so bad. She'd been rubbing her eyes, her makeup was messed up, her hair was disarranged from the fight and she hadn't even bothered to give it more than a quick combing….

"Mom-" Kim asked, looking at her mothers face, but Andrea cut her off.

"Now, before any questions. What happened. _Exactly._" She paused, "I want to know everything Tara said and did before her… fit." Ron, Felix and Bonnie started talking, as Andrea listened, somehow keeping track of the three separate voices, only occasionally asking one to repeat a point. When they got to the part about her not taking the medicine, Andrea's lips tightened.

"Damn." She said quietly.

"Mom…your face…" Kim said into the silence.

"Tara had another panic attack." Her mother said. "She's not coordinated, but she _is_ strong, and I caught a fist when we were holding her down."

Everyone paused for a moment, then Ron spoke, up.

"Dr. P…what happened to Tara? What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with her…she's a perfectly healthy girl, of about six, mentally." Andrea said quietly. "She has no memory of anything happening after her sixth birthday—that's why I had to take so long—she doesn't recognize anyone other than Bonnie and her mother." The teens blinked.

"But…but wouldn't she tell the difference?" Kim asked, "I mean she's my age, and Bonnie's my age, and her mom…"

"Yes, that's a point." Andrea said, "One that I can't explain, unless she's either refusing to see the world as it is, for psychological reasons, or there's something else operating. I had hoped this might be an overdose, but if she stopped taking it, it could be something worse…"

"Worse?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes—there are some drugs that replace compounds normally produced by the body—in certain cases, if you use them, the body _loses_ the ability to produce those compounds naturally—if she stopped taking the medication, and this resulted, we might be seeing something of a similar nature."

"But you can fix it, right?" Bonnie asked. Kim's mother looked at the teen, and spoke sympathetically. She knew, just as well as Ron and Kim, that Tara was Bonnie's closest friend.

"Bonnie… the mechanism of memory is still only partially understood. I can't expect to fix it until I know exactly what "it" is." She shrugged, "I've put in a raft of emergency calls and emails to the best in the field. We'll do our best." The teens didn't say the obvious, that "Best" might not be good enough. If they'd wanted comforting lies, Kim thought, they should have gone to someone other than her mother. But now Dr. Possible was talking.

"But I'm going to have to ask you all—did anyone else that you are aware of take this medication?" The teens looked at each other, and all shook their head.

"Nobody told us." Bonnie said. Felix looked worried.

"But some of the kids in my advanced chemisty class were…doing a lot better than they should."

"Names." Dr. Possible said. Felix nodded and gave them.

"Are they going…to get in trouble?" the wheelchair bound youth asked.

"If they were taking this poison…" Andrea sighed, "I don't think they can _be_ in any worse trouble." She paused "Before I came here I called the chief of police and Mr. Barkin—they're contacting ALL the families they can reach—I just wanted to see if you knew of anyone for certain…." She shook her head and looked tired. "Pardon me… have to get back to Tara, and see if she's calmed down, and hopefully the CDC will get back in touch." She paused. "Bonnie…I'm sorry to have to ask this, but Tara's father is on the East Coast, and you are the only other person she'll calm down for… I need you to come with me so I can talk to her mother out of the room."

"Oh-ok…" Bonnie said jerkily.

"I'll come." Ron said, but Andrea shook her head.

"I'm sorry Ronald, but the more people she doesn't recognize the more nervous she becomes… I can't tell if that's paranoia or just a six year olds natural fear of strangers. It's best if we minimize the number of people around her."

"Ok." Ron said, and patted Bonnie on the shoulder. The girl held his hand, not possessively, but desperately and then visibly gathered herself and followed the doctor out of the room.

"Bonnie's not dealing well." Kim said quietly.

"Tara said they were best friends." Felix said, handling his girlfriend going nuts far better than Kim would have Josh going nuts…or maybe, she thought, it was just that he didn't have her urge to _do_ something. Ron shook his head.

"More than that." He paused, looked over at Felix and nodded to himself. "Bonnie's… well, I love her bunches, but she can be… type A." Kim looked at Ron. He reddened, "OK, _real_ type A. And her sisters are pretty… well, bitches." He looked apologetic, "Sorry Kim."

"Why? They _are_. I heard them mouthing off about Bonnie's performance as cheer captain last month." Ron nodded.

"So she's hard to get close to…and well, Tara, and maybe Kim and I, we're pretty much it…and Tara knew Bonnie ever since Pre-K."

"Damn." Felix said. He paused, "I'm gonna call my mom—maybe she can give Dr. Possible a hand—they've been doing cybernetic interface work…"

"That's a thought." Kim said. At that point a nurse poked her head in the door.

"Kim?"

"Yes?"

"There's someone on the phone for you—he says a Mr. Senior asked him to talk to you?"

"Oh!" Kim said, in surprise and then remembered her celphone, turned off as per the hospital regulations. She quickly went to the desk.

"Hello?"

"Hi!" A surprisingly young voice said to her, "I'm Wade. Senior said you needed some help, and well, I owe him for some help."

"Yeah…" Kim said. "Things have gotten…worse here." Quickly, she explained the situation to the disembodied voice.

"Can you get a chemical read out of the drug?" Kim paused, thought about it. "Yeah—mom printed out a copy—how do you want it?"

"Yeah… can you fax it to me?" Kim nodded . She had the combo for her moms office, and she'd used the fax/scanner there before, to send in homeworld. She _might_ get in trouble for this, especially if she'd brought up Tara's name, but maybe not just the drug.

And in any case, this was to help Tara.

* * *

"Dr. Possible?" A nurse asked, Andrea as she sat outside the observation room, watching Daphne and Bonnie talk to her daughter, the intercom carrying the mother's strained voice and Tara's happy, confused, impatient, but above all _childish_ voice. Bonnie had been sent to the bathroom to clean herself up. Andrea sighed, by rights, Bonnie shouldn't be here. It was obviously dreadfully upsetting to her, and given how similar Bonnie and Kim were, she knew just how poorly Bonnie dealt with feeling helpless. But there was nothing else to be done, right now.

The quick tests she'd done had proven that Tara had completely regressed. Coordination was poor, or rather in line for a six year old, she seemed to have no memory of anything else, and she seemed to not notice anything that might call her condition into question, like the fact that Bonnie and herself were considerably older than 16.

"Yes?"

"Here are the toxicology reports…nothing." Andrea took the datapad and frowned at it. The nurse was right—nothing in the blood stream… the next step would be a full brainscan, but she didn't think Tara would tolerate that, yet they _couldn't_ give her any sort of medication, especially anything that might impact her brain until they knew more. The looked up, as the nurse continued.

"And the first parents are…arriving." The younger woman said. "They're fairly upset."

"I would be—anyone that we've confirmed who has taken the product?"

"No-" the nurse paused, "But the police want to know if there's any danger to others?" Andrea shook her head, and then nodded.

"Yes—the children may be experiencing memory loss and hallucinations and believe they are younger than they are. They won't be deliberately dangerous, but they will be like six year olds in teen age bodies." For a moment her mouth tightened in annoyance.

_Why didn't you think of that before, Andrea? The police need to know **exactly** what they might be dealing with.

* * *

_

Kim had finished sending in the last of the thirty odd pages to this "Wade" and was waiting, impatiently.

"Wow." Wade said, "this is complex stuff." He paused, and Kim waited her celphone up to her ear, tapping one hand against her wheelchair.

"Well?"

"Wait one…" There was a pause.

"It's a medical compound, you're right there."

"I knew that…" Kim said.

"But, it's a compound that actually was worked on in a legitimate lab."

"Mom didn't find anything out about it."

"That's because it never made it to production, or even human testing." Wade said, "I managed to cross reference keywords with the library of congress, and U.S. Patent Office databases."

"You can do that?"

"Oh yeah." Wade paused, and continued, "It was a compound being tested for therapy for brain damage…but let's see… The company was bought out by cosmetics company, and development was stopped…it never made it beyond animal testing, and the data says that it had… difficulties."

"Interesting, but how does it help us?" Kim could hear the smile in Wade's face.

"Well, how about the fact that the chief researcher lives in Middleton?"

_Lives in Middleton, had his work cancelled… I bet he's trying to develop it on the sly, using **my** friends as test animals! _Kim's face turned feral for a moment, then…

"Thanks Wade…" Kim said, "Can you get my his address?"

"Sure!"

_And now to call Josh and go have a…talk.

* * *

_

TBC.

* * *

Note: while some might find it odd that Dr. Possible doesn't know about this compound, it's important to remember that literally thousands of drugs are at some stage in development at any given time. As a working neurosurgeon, Andrea quite likely focuses on those treatments that are most promising, I.E., closest to being cleared for use on her patients. 


	6. Chapter 6

_Jumping to Conclusions_

* * *

Dr. Karl Marstairs looked forward to these dinners with his wife. Granted, they were easier now that he was retired, but still, they reminded him of the Friday night dinners he'd worked so hard to keep, even when he was an intern working 70 hour weeks. He helped her into the car, turned around, and…

Found himself confronted by a very, VERY angry red head in a wheelchair.

"Dr. Marstairs." Kim said, with Josh behind her. Josh was a little nervous—there were other ways to handle this, but Kim had called him and in a rapid fire exchange, made it plain that they were doing it _her_ way.

"May I help you young lady?" He asked.

"Well, before you go to jail, you could explain why you've been drugging my friends?"

"What? Young lady, if this is some kind of joke, it is in _very_ poor taste, and I don't think I'll be the one the police are arresting." Kim's face turned red with fury. Tara was in the hospital and this…this…

"Oh yeah? Tell me you're not selling those memory pills!" Kim pulled out pages of paper she'd printed out from the hospital and waved them in his face. Karl frowned at this.

"My dear, I am not in the habit of selling vitamins, nor am I in the habit, for that matter, of being accosted by angry children in my driveway." He continued, snatching a paper out of her hand, and looked at it. "I am retired from private industry and my research is a matter of public record at the university…." He paused, looking at the paper, and put his eyeglasses on, "And in fact…" Karl stopped.

"Where did you get this information?" He asked her shortly.

"From the analysis of the pills that Tara was taking!" Kim said.

"Pills? Don't be idiotic." Karl said absently, "The acid in the stomach would almost certainly destroy the compound, to say nothing of the blood-brain barrier."

"That's what mom sai-"

"Young lady." Karl said suddenly in a tone that cut Kim off. "Are you telling me that someone has actually _ingested_ this compound?"

"That's what I've been-" Kim started, and Josh cut her off.

"Yes sir."

"Josh!"

"Kim, you were busy ranting at him righteously." Josh said. "You didn't exactly give him a lot of details."

"Indeed. How many?" Karl asked.

"We don't know." Kim said, now that Josh had calmed her down. "Tara is the only one who said for certain she was taking it, and she had a fit… mom has her at the hospital."

"Your mother… you would be Kim Possible?" He said, "I remember you and your mother from the Symposium on Neural Trauma…you might not have remembered me." Kim frowned, and shook her head.

"No."

"Understandable. You had only recently left the hospital, and I believe you were still accommodating yourself to your wheelchair."

"Um…yes sir." Kim said. Now that her anger was…if not dissipating, at least not finding a target, she was falling into old habits when confronted with older gentlemen.

"Brilliant doctor… I liked her paper on the use of focused sonic waves in order to achieve the non-intrusive reduction of brain tumors. Well written." He shook his head. "But to the matter at hand, I'll help…no, your companion's vehicle no doubt is better suited to your chair."

"It has a rack."

"Good." Karl sighed, "My dear." He said to his wife… I'm afraid the kind of emergency I thought was behind me has come up…"

"Go along dear, I'll follow you to the hospital."

"Thank you." He said.

* * *

On the way to the hospital, Kim talked…mostly in response to Karl's questions. The doctor ignored Josh's driving (and even though Josh was a _good_ driver, Kim filed that way for future consideration—most older people would be putting imprints into the dashboard.). His questions were incisive and to the point. Kim, having interviewed people before, quickly realized just how smart the man was, as he carefully separated facts from her thoughts and observations. His face tightened as they came in sight of the hospital.

"Can you help, sir?" Josh asked, quietly.

"I don't know. The research never got this far…for reason's, I'm afraid, that are being made abundantly clear."

"Why were you making smart pills…" Kim asked. Karl shook his head.

"They weren't intended for that—the compound was an attempt to develop a therapy for brain trauma, senile dementia, that sort of thing." He paused, "it was never to be administered orally, only via injection into the brain, and only under the strictest supervision."

"But it never happened."

"No. The research turned out to be something of a dead end."

"Why?" Karl didn't say anything for a moment. Then.

"I think I'd better discuss that with Dr. Possible."

TBC.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7. Wow. A new Chapter. In other news, Hell was forced to purchase a consignment of heaters and parkas...

* * *

"Bonnie, I want you to sit and talk with Tara…won't that be nice, Tara?" Dr. Possible asked. 

"Uh-huh!" Tara said from the bed where she'd been securely bundled in, and giggled. "Bonnie!" Tara's mother was actually trembling and Dr. Possible drew her outside to start talking to her.

Bonnie walked up and sat down in the seat next to Tara, feeling like there were cobras coiling around her.

_How many?_ She wondered in sick horror. If Tara had been taking it, how many others?

"Hi Tara… wanna play a sing along game?" Bonnie said in a cheerful voice that sounded fake only in her own ears.

* * *

"Ms. King." Dr. Possible said, in a voice that projected calm, "I'm afraid that the CAT scan and other tests are showing a progressive degeneration in your daughters brain, especially the parts having to do with memory."

"But…but what will happen? You can _do_ something, can't you?"

"I… I don't know. We are working on it, and I've sent out alerts to some of the best men and women in the field, but we're running out of time." She paused. "That's why I need to know if we should undertake heroic measures to save your daughters life."

"Of _course-" _Abruptly the woman's voice cut off. "What…"

"If she gets to a certain point, what we call an irreversible vegetative state may be the result—her involuntary reflexes may continue—breathing, elimination, that sort of thing, but all higher thought processes might be shut down. If that is the case, you and your husband when he arrives." She paused, "Will have to decide what measures we can take to maintain her life."

"Are you talking about-euth-"

"No." Andrea said, "That is _not_ a procedure that is entertained in this hospital, nor will it ever be, if I have anything to say about it." She paused, "I'm talking about… how much should we intervene to prevent her death in the case of a vegetative state. For example, if her heart were to stop, we would have a choice whether or not to go to what we call "full code" to use the paddles, and everything else to restart it."

"I… That's going to happen, isn't it."

Andrea looked at her sympathetically. "I don't know—I'm telling you this because you need to know, and since she is a minor, and has no ability to make her own will known in this case, you and your husband will have to decide. We are doing our _absolute_ best… but I won't mince words. The situation is very grim."

* * *

Bonnie sat, trying to not cry…or throw up. There was something _obscene_ about the destruction of Tara's memories….no, the destruction of _Tara._ Tara's mom had been talking with Andrea for a while, but Tara seemed to get getting worse. She didn't remember anything beyond pre-K now.

_Oh God, please do something. She's my best friend._

"So Tara…want to play a game?"

"Game?" Tara asked, her eyes bright…and suddenly vague.

"Game…like…like what we played at our birthday party." Bonnie said desperately.

"Ba…ba…ba…." Tara started singing the Maddog theme, but it was disjointed, tuneless, no words coming out. Bonnie tasted blood from where she'd bitten her lip.

"Tara… Tara…" She said desperately, looking at her, "Remember the game we were going to play?"

"Ga?" Tara asked, and now there was no sense of rhythm to the sounds she made. Her eyes followed Bonnie…but there was no sense in them. There was a sudden odor in the room as Tara's bladder and bowels released…like a new born. Bonnie tried to hold on to her hand, but Tara pulled it away, suddenly fascinated by putting her fingers in her mouth.

Bonnie didn't know how, but she had hit the floor and was sliding back, until the wall stopped her. Kim's mom opened the door and looked at her.

"Bonnie…_what happened?_"

"Ta-ta…" Bonnie couldn't complete the words, not because she didn't know what to say, but because she suddenly couldn't see through the flow of water and a tremendous hand seemed to have grabbed her by the throat.

"I-oh no." Andrea bent down and pulled Tara's hand's from her mouth, conjuring a loud, infantile wail. "Nurse…_Nurse! _I need her arms tied." Tara's mom was beside her.

"But…she did what when she was a little ba-"

"Baby's don't have real teeth and adult jaw muscles—we let her start chewing and she'll take her fingers off. Nurse! No, no sedatives, I told you we can't risk any changes to her- oh, the others have arrived? Start a work up on _every_ one of the teens, have them fill out that questionnaire I put down and put them and the parents in room 3, I'll talk to them then- No, have the techs start running the Teens through the catscan and other tests, I'll talk to the parents separately." Over Tara's wailing, Andrea's voice continued, "And where is that line to the CDC?"

Bonnie was scrabbling her way to the door hating herself but she couldn't stay in the room one more second. She _couldn't_ she couldn't do anything or help and Tara…

She managed to get up and head out the door, maintaining the presence of mind to avoid the nurses coming in she had to get out, she couldn't _do_ anything, and she had to get out.

"Bonnie?" Dr. Possible called to her, but Bonnie sobbing, kept running.

Ron had evidently heard the sound, and he was in the corridor, but Bonnie just ran past him.

"Ron." Dr. Possible said, "I have everything I need from you—go be with Bonnie." Ron nodded, gulped, and spoke.

"OK… Is… Is Tara…"

"No. She's not dead. But things aren't going well. I know how much Tara means to Bonnie…so go be with her, Ron. I'm sorry…." Ron nodded and took off after Bonnie.

TBC.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

* * *

When Kim, Josh and Dr. Marstairs got to the hospital, it was plain something was going on. There were police cars, ambulances, the parking lot was stuffed, and a news crew was setting up in the parking lot to the donut shop across the street.

"What's happening?" Josh asked.

"Good news, of a sort." The doctor said, when the two teens looked at him, he smiled grimly. "At least the authorities are responding to the emergency as they should. Young man, I'm afraid that you'll have to drop us off—I doubt there will be any parking available to you." Josh nodded, pulling up to the curb, and letting Marstairs and Kim get out, the doctor helping the teen with her wheelchair. He took off, looking for a parking place as Kim and Marstairs headed into the hospital.

As they came to the doors, Bonnie came charging out, sobbing, followed by Ron. Ron stopped briefly looking at Kim.

"Kim-"

"Ron, what's wrong?"

"Tara-she's bad." Kim didn't hesitate.

"Then don't stop here." Kim said, and Ron, without another word, followed Bonnie into the night.

* * *

Inside, the hospital was barely organized Chaos. In one corner Kim saw a girl she knew from the chess club quietly dissolving into hysterics in her parents arms, while in another, Officer Hobble was trying to calm down a well dressed man who was demanding that something be done for his son, in a voice that had started out loud and determined, but was itself beginning to scale up. Kim shivered. She understood the mood—she had had it, when they had told her what the rest of her life was going to be like…but at least she had had some preparation, knowing how badly she'd been hurt. But this mood…it was contagious, and she could see that other people were beginning to stand up and go to the man's assistance in his confrontation with the officer, as other police came in.

"This is bad." Kim said under her breath.

"Indeed." was all the doctor said. They got to the nurses station, and for the first time in Kim's memory, she wasn't allowed to go any further.

"I'm sorry honey, but they've sealed the rest of the hospital-" Dr. Marstairs held out some ID.

"I am Doctor Karl Marstairs, and I have some information on this drug. It is urgent that I speak with Dr. Possible." The woman looked at him for a moment, then nodded.

"Go on in." This time, Kim was allowed to pass, and they continued through the hospital, quieter now.

* * *

In the lab, Dr. Possible was working on a computer read out, looking up at Kim and Karl.

"Kimmie, I thought they wouldn't let- who is this?" Kim opened her mouth but Karl beat her to it.

"Karl Marstairs."

"Oh—I remember you—you were at the degenerative neural diseases conference."

"Yes, and I know about this drug—I invented it." Kim winced, feeling even worse as her mother simply looked at Karl, evidently not jumping to conclusions.

"I take it not for this use." She said.

"No." He responded, "It was an attempt to moderate various forms of degenerative neural conditions—most specifically things like senile dementia."

"I…never heard about it." She commented.

Karl sighed, "I expect not—it never made it past animal testing and the company I worked for before canceling the program was very concerned about premature publicity—for exactly this reason, I must add. The _last_ thing they wanted was for people to believe we were developing some form of "smart pill".

"I can see why—and the reason it never made it to human trials?" Karl looked over at Kim for a moment and then quietly said.

"Because in each and every case a momentary improvement in memory retention and intelligence was followed by a swift, and irreversible degeneration, resulting in death."

"Before or after the compound was administered?" Dr. Possible asked, "Tara showed her first symptoms after she _stopped_ taking it."

Karl raised his eyebrows at that one. "No… I don't recall us doing that sort of experiment—no animal lasted long enough, for one thing." Andrea sighed, looking at the read out.

"I have 20 children who have been taking this—I was considering having them continue to take it, since it seemed like Tara's stopping caused the problems, but…"

"But if they track to the animal tests that would simply postpone the reaction by a short time, and make it much worse."

"I've put in conference calls, for the best in the field—can you put together a synoposis of the drug?"

"Yes—one thing we might try-" Kim lost all track of the conversation as the doctors started in on the technical details of the situation, understanding maybe one word in five. She waited, until there was a sound of someone clearing her throat. Kim turned around in her chair.

"Mom's busy right now." She said, to the brown haired woman wearing an eye patch who was in the room, with two other men.

"That's not a problem, Kimberly Ann Possible. I'm here to talk to you, after all."

TBC.


End file.
